EMA 30 / Tiny tour of models: Cultural Centre in Paide
The model of the Cultural Centre in Paide, 1986. EAM MK 91
The Paide Cultural Centre was designed in the Estonian Rural Construction Project in 1984–85. The architect Hans Kõll and the designer Rein Üts are the authors of the project. The stained glass window of the façade was designed by the artist Kaarel Kurismaa. The unique interiors of the cultural centre are the work of interior architects Tiiu Pai and Taimi Rõugu, stained glass windows are designed by the artist Kalev Roomet. The representative building on the corner of Pärnu and Tööstuse streets – where the new social center of Paide was to come – was completed on 1987. On January 1, 1988, the magazine “Sirp and Vasar” (The Hammer and the Sickle) published photos of the new culture house on the front page and wrote:
“The dream of the people of Järva County has come true – on December 27, the cultural house of Paide district was opened. The biggest in Estonia, the best in Estonia. Quickly and well-built, given to the customer half a year before the deadline – this should be the perestroika momentum for other constructions as well, especially for cultural objects.”
Despite this and the building being criticized at the time for its scalability and restless façade design it was named the best building of 1988. The Paide Cultural Centre (now the Paide Music and Theater House) has so far functioned in its original use and preserved its authentic appearance and interiors. In 2016, the building was declared as a cultural monument. The 1:100 model of the Paide Cultural Centre was made by Rein Koster and Ants Anari, it was added to the museum’s collection in 2001. Text: Anne Lass
Veel: 1980ndad, 1980s, architect: Hans Kõll, Paide
Competition entry for the Arctic Centre in Rovaniemi
Andres Alver, Leonhard Lapin, 1982. EAM.5.4.70
Eight countries in the northern hemisphere, including the Soviet Union with three entries from Estonia, took part in the international architectural competition the purpose of which was to introduce Arctic nature, history and culture. The designers for the entry “CDF” drew inspiration from Caspar David Friedrich’s painting The Sea of Ice. The shape of the building, which houses two different museums – the Arctic Museum and the Provincial Museum of Lapland – bears direct resemblance to ridged ice. The idea of being dominated by Nordic nature is further emphasised by the complex being situated on the steep riverbank that follows the natural relief of the plot. Nine large-format drawings altogether with the axonometric projection shown here were brought to the museum by the authors in 2008. Text: Sandra Mälk
Veel: 1980ndad, 1980s, architect: Andres Alver, architect: Leonhard Lapin, architectural competition
House in Tallinn
Vilen Künnapu, 1981. EAM 41.1.11
The reason architects from the Tallinn School were fond of axonometric projection is that such drawings are object-centred. Unlike the viewerspecific perspective, this viewpoint places emphasis on the relations of the object with its different parts, i.e. the measurements of floors and walls and the distance between such elements. This leads to a different perception of space – stairs that have been divided at the top and disappear into the unknown and multilayered patterned rooms. This is proof that axonometrical drawings can be used to convey complicated spatial structures. The coloured pencil drawing was donated to the museum by Vilen Künnapu in 2005. Text: Sandra Mälk
Veel: 1980ndad, 1980s, architect: Vilen Künnapu, Tallinn School architects
